At Issue
Teachers race economic squeeze with less money to help students
Colleen Scott Keiser is facing the new
reality of the public school educator—the longer she teaches, the more
challenging it becomes.
“Now, it just seems like there’s never any down time so you can pause and catch your breath.”
Michigan’s education funding crisis isn’t making it easier for teachers. In fact, it’s adding to the stress and workload of the job.
In Webberville, located 25 miles east of Lansing, budget cuts have cost the district 20 percent of its teaching staff over the past four years. The number of support staff also has been reduced.
“We’re expected to reach the same goals for our students, but with fewer staff, all of us have to work longer and harder to accomplish that,” Scott Keiser said. “A lot of our teachers are here until 6 at night and then take work home with them. We’ll do whatever it takes to help students and get the job done.”
Scott Keiser’s daily schedule is packed. She teaches government, economics and journalism, and serves as student newspaper and yearbook adviser. In addition, she mentors two teachers beginning their careers in Webberville.
A change this fall from block scheduling to a seven-class-period day—another move mandated to save money—forced both teachers and students to adjust.
“We’ve gone from teaching 90-minute blocks to 52-minute classes, and that requires a shift in your mental approach,” she said. “It takes a while to get your pacing back.”
Teaching seven classes heightens stress levels and adds to the workload.“First, we’ve lost prep time needed for classes—we’re down from 90 minutes of planning time to 52 minutes—and the paper work from student assignments has increased dramatically with seven classes,” Scott Keiser said.
“With shorter class periods, you don’t have as much time to engage students, to lead them in group discussions and in role playing. It’s more difficult, for example, to get 27 kids in your class to focus on writing a thesis in a shorter time period.”
The budget for school supplies keeps shrinking, but teachers continue to buy what they need for their classrooms out of their own pockets.
“Many of my colleagues spend up to $1,000 to purchase supplies and equipment for the classroom,” Scott Keiser said.
Webberville teachers keep spending their own money to buy school supplies even though they have gone three years without a pay raise, in addition to contributing more money to pay their health care premiums.
“The district has implied that it wants to put more money into salaries and benefits for teachers,” she said. “We’re working without a contract, and we’ve made sacrifices and sacrifices. At this point, we’re not keeping pace with the cost of living. We’re watching our pay slowly decrease. It’s sad.”
Scott Keiser also expressed concern over how school districts will retain new teachers in the current economic climate.
“I feel for the new teachers. They’re starting out on the bottom rung of the pay scale and barely can eke out a living when you consider that many are paying a heavy student loan debt from undergraduate days and taking the required advanced college courses, on top of normal living expenses. I hope they don’t turn away from the profession.” The common denominator facing all K-12 teachers in Michigan is that education is not adequately funded, Scott Keiser said.
“We’re committed to teaching, and most of us stay with it because we love the profession, we love helping the students. But please give us the funds we need to do our jobs.”
We’re at a critical stage in providing necessary funding for public education in Michigan. School districts have ‘rainy-day’ funds, money they can use in emergencies. Well, it’s pouring in a lot of our districts, and those funds are being soaked up. We need a source of stable funding for districts throughout Michigan, guaranteed funding that can’t be touched. Without it, our ability to do what’s best for kids is limited.” Laura Warren-Gross, Kalamazoo EA